Rainbow-billed Toucan

The keel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan, keel toucan, or rainbow-billed toucan, is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize. The species is found in tropical jungles from southern Mexico to Ecuador. It is an omnivorous forest bird that feeds on fruits, seeds, insects, invertebrates, lizards, snakes, and small birds and their eggs.

Description

Including its bill, the length of the keel-billed toucan ranges from around . Its large and colorful bill averages around , about one-third of its length. The wingspan of the keel-billed toucan typically ranges from 189.4 to 208.4 mm. It typically weighs about . While the bill seems large and cumbersome, it is in fact a spongy, hollow bone covered in keratin, a very light and hard protein.

The plumage of the keel-billed toucan is mainly black with a yellow neck and chest. Molting occurs once per year. It has blue feet and red feathers at the tip of its tail. The bill is mainly green with a red tip and orange sides.

Keel-billed toucans have zygodactyl feet (or feet with toes 2 and 3 facing forwards, and toes 1 and 4 facing backwards) – two toes face forward and two face back. Because toucans spend a large portion of time in the trees, this helps the birds to stay on the branches of the trees and jump from one branch to another.

Other than size, males and females of the species look similar.

Taxonomy and systematics

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized:

Distribution and habitat

The keel-billed toucan can be found from Southern Mexico to Venezuela and Colombia. It roosts in the canopies of tropical, subtropical, and lowland rainforests, up to altitudes of . It roosts in holes in trees, often with several other toucans. This can be very cramped, so the birds tuck their tails and beaks under their bodies to keep their body temperature at a normal level while sleeping. Adding to the lack of space, the bottoms of the holes are often covered with pits from the fruit the toucans have eaten.

Behaviour and ecology

Like many other toucans, keel-billed toucans are very social birds and are rarely seen alone. They fly in small flocks of approximately six to twelve individuals through lowland rainforests. Their flight is slow and undulating, consisting of rapid wing beats (six to ten), then a glide with the bird's beak extending forward and dipping downward as though pulling the rest of the bird. Their feet are drawn up forward in flight. The flight distances are typically short.

They live together in groups, often sharing cramped living quarters of holes in trees, where 5 or 6 birds could fit into a single hole together. The birds look for holes around 20 feet off the ground, with smaller holes for an entrance. In order to fit in these small holes, the birds fold their tail over their body and tuck the large beak along their backs. There is a family structure within the group. Birds often "duel" with each other using their bills, and throw fruit into each other's mouths. They 'play ball', one throwing a fruit in the air and a second seizing it.

Vocalizations by the birds include sounds like “grr”, “trrii” and “rrrk.” A louder male could be heard over half a mile away. They also communicate with non-vocal noises by clacking their large beaks and beating their wings.

Breeding

When courting, the birds will exchange fruits with each other.

The female keel-billed toucan will lay 1–4 white eggs in a natural or already-made tree cavity. The male and female share in the caring of the eggs, both taking turns incubating. The eggs hatch approximately 15–20 days after being laid. After hatching, the male and female again take turns feeding the chicks. When the chicks hatch, they have no feathers, and have their eyes closed for approximately 3 weeks. The chicks have adequately formed heel pads, which assist on the pit-covered bottom of the nest. The chicks stay in their nest for approximately eight to nine weeks while their bills develop fully and they are ready to fledge from the nest.

Keel-billed toucans can have as many as 3 broods each year.

Food and feeding

The diet of keel-billed toucans consists mostly of a wide range of fruit, but may also include insects, eggs, nestlings, and lizards. The bill, surprisingly dexterous, allows this toucan to utilize a large variety of fruit that might not otherwise be reached. When eating the fruit, it uses its bill to dissect the fruit, and then tosses its head back to swallow the fruit whole.

Typically, the toucan eats off the ground, from mid-story to the forest canopy. Rarely, it may eat on the floor of the forest. The keel-billed toucan is possibly the first toucan observed eating carrion, by a team of researchers in 2018 in Costa Rica.

The toucan's diet has an effect on the plants that it eats, as large seeds digested and vomited by the birds have a higher chance of sprouting than those which are not eaten.

Occasionally, the chestnut-mandibled toucan will follow the keel-billed toucan to a source of food, and then chase away the smaller bird.

Keel-billed Toucan (16201157519).jpg, In Costa Rica
Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus sulfuratus) on foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata) Cayo.jpg, on foxtail palm ('' Wodyetia bifurcata''), Belize
Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus sulfuratus) in flight Peten.jpg, in Peten, Guatemala

Aviculture

The keel-billed toucan is sometimes kept in captivity, but it requires a high-fruit diet and is sensitive to hemochromatosis, an iron storage disease.

Status

The keel-billed toucan is threatened by habitat loss, which has been accelerating in recent years, and by hunting and trapping for the wildlife trade. The species is undergoing a moderately rapid population decline and is therefore categorized as a near-threatened species. The decline rate in 2021 of the past 3 generations was estimated to be from 1019%, although future populations were estimated at a higher 2029%.

References

External links

*

Keel-billed toucan Stamps
(7 countries) at
*


of online ornithological articles which explore the natural history of the Rainbow or Keel-billed toucan, ''Ramphastos sulfuratus sulfuratus''.
*
*
*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q47501

Ramphastos
Birds of Central America
Birds of Mexico
Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula
Birds of Belize
Birds of Guatemala
Birds of Nicaragua
Birds of Costa Rica
Birds of Panama
Birds of Colombia
National symbols of Belize
Birds described in 1830
Taxa named by René Lesson